The Times isn't motivated to sell.

The Globe was for sale in late 2009. The Times Co. hired investment bankers, put together a deal book, and negotiated with bidder groups. Though there appeared to be two serious bidders, the Times decided not to sell. The offers, reported to be in the range of $35 million to $45 million, were not good enough.

Two words: "Zell" and "Tierney."

I have come to believe that in certain big cities, there are likely to be one or several rich citizens intrigued by the idea of taking over and saving the newspaper. But for all the rumblings, it has happened just twice, and neither was a happy experience.

That was a success in that Tierney got past the talking stage and did the deal. But it was a disaster for Tierney, fellow investors and their bankers, who were forced into bankruptcy and sold last year at a quarter of the price to a group of vulture private equity groups.

Good luck with financing.

In both the Zell and Tierney takeovers, banks chipped in for a big share of the purchase price. That was then, though, and this is now. Lenders and public-market investors are shunning the industry. If Kushner and his group do put together a $200 million bid, most likely all or nearly all will be their cash.

In Los Angeles, billionaires David Geffen and Eli Broad showed interest in buying the LA Times but never got a serious audience with Zell and company. A local bid to buy The Baltimore Sun from Tribune stalled as well.

In San Francisco, financier Warren Hellman led a group that in 2009 looked to acquire the San Francisco Chronicle. On closer inspection, they lost enthusiasm for buying into the Chronicle's high labor costs and other fixed expenses — and instead launched the nonprofit Bay Citizen.

Kushner does not fit the typical profile of a newspaper rescuer.

He is 37, a relative newcomer to the Boston area. He previously ran and sold a first-generation dot-com that allowed people who moved to change addresses online. In the 2000s he ran a moderately successful greeting card company.

Kushner is not a nostalgist for the simpler, better days of newspapering, having described himself in a Boston Magazine profile as a "contrarian." But he won't be able to assemble a credible bid on his own; he'll need a lot of other people's money and publishing expertise.

However, Kushner has consistently declined in interviews to say just what these bold new ideas are (or to say how much money he's committed to bid).

The notion that there is a secret sauce out there that can set metros back on a strong growth path rings false to me. As my former St. Petersburg Times boss and mentor Andy Barnes used to say, treat with extreme prejudice any publishing schemes from those new to the business that begin, "Well, you could just..."

All this adds up to a situation in which you have a seller who's not particularly motivated and a buyer who may find interest from his potential investors melting away if they start negotiating and assess the risk with a clear eye.

But never say never. Boston has the mixed psyche of big-time, yet provincial that could be just right for a serious push for local ownership. And as CEO Robinson said in declaring that the Globe is not currently for sale, she and her board would have a fiduciary duty to consider a serious offer if one is forthcoming.